The Lost Year
by LittleMoonLover
Summary: Chronicling the time between when Sakura left Konoha & returned with Sasuke and a surprise. What happened in that lost year? [SasuSaku]
1. For Starters

**Author's Greetings:** Hello everyone! For those of you who have read anything by me before you know the deal! This will be my third Naruto-series-centric Fanfic and this time it will highlight the coupling of Sasuke & Sakura. Now I know quite a few of you have read my Kakasaku & Naruhina fics and I hope that you enjoy this one as well! Just a little disclaimer: If you have an issue with this pairing or any of the other pairings that I write about, I kindly ask you to keep your comments to yourself. Also if you want the chapters to come out fast I'd just like to let you know that reviews go a long way with me and motivate me to shell out the chapters more. Anyways! I hope you enjoy reading this!

 **Summary:** Chronicling the time between when Sakura left Konoha & returned with Sasuke and a surprise. What happened in that lost year?

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

 _'For Starters'_

"Something's gotta give." Sakura muttered to herself as she scribbled away in her planner. She was sitting in the broom closet that was masquerading as her office at the hospital. She had spent the better part of an hour trying to figure out just how she was going to fit all of her patients in the next day.

"If Sayuri hadn't taken the weekend off this wouldn't be a problem." She told the wall petulantly as she added Mrs. Aburashi to her list and tried to find a time in her day to check up on the woman.

With a little groan Sakura threw her pencil down and leaned back in her chair, rubbing her undoubtedly puffy eyes.

She wasn't mad at Sayuri for asking for the weekend off. Not really. The woman had just gotten married recently and had put off her honeymoon for almost two months in order to help out with the large influx of patients that the hospital had been experiencing.

It also didn't help that two of the doctors were out sick and Igurashi-sensei (Who was supposed to be in charge) was putting most of the responsibility of managing the hospital onto Sakura's shoulders.

"He always does this. Leaves me in charge so he can take off early." Sakura said to herself before making a mental note to stop talking to herself.

"Well let's hope the hospital can manage without me for eight-" She looked at her watch "No make that four hours." She continued, ignoring her earlier mental note.

She grabbed her coat and bag and left her office, shutting off the light and locking the door as she went. The trip downstairs took ten minutes longer than usual because she was stopped every few steps by someone needing to ask her a question or get her signature on something.

Leaving the hospital and inhaling the night air a quick look at her watch told her that it was nearly two in the morning. With a tired groan Sakura walked the two blocks to her apartment, looking forward to putting her feet up and falling fast asleep.

Upon her arrival she dropped all of her things in the doorway, kicked off her shoes and stumbled into the dark apartment. She undressed as she walked, letting the clothing fall where it may (and making a promise to pick it up in the morning).

She was already half asleep by the time made it to her dresser and pulled out a soft flannel nightgown, as she pulled it over her head she noticed something out of the corner of her eye: A little rolled up piece of paper was sitting on her pillow surrounded by a few brown feathers.

Her adrenaline spiked as she recognized the familiar paper and she tugged the nightgown down over her hips and jumped into bed, greedily grabbing the letter and turning on the lamp on her bedside table. Unrolling the paper her hunch about who the letter was from was confirmed by the narrow, spiked handwritting:

'It is raining in Amegakure. It's always raining. The refugee state that this land used to be is slowly beginning to change as stability is restored. Currently keeping an eye out for a group called the Lizards. There were some medical ninjas that you trained in the camp the other day. Thought of you. - S'

Sakura leaned back against the pillow, clutching the letter to her chest. As always Sasuke was bland and straight to the point-no doubt Kakashi also received a similar letter. But the last few words were different-they always were.

She usually received a letter once a month (or every two months) and the first part was always about the state of Amegakure.

The village hidden by rain had been a battleground for some of the most brutal wars ever fought by shinobi. The entire government was being rebuilt from the ground up with the help of the four shinobi nations in hopes that it would one day be stable enough to entire the union that they all shared.

Sakura didn't know exactly what Sasuke's purpose for being there was-only Kakashi knew that-but she figured he did a lot of watching and waiting.

But that wasn't what made her crave these letters from the absent Uchiha. Sakura opened the drawer on her bedside table and pulled out the stack of letters-there were fifteen in total-and flipped through them.

'Saw a little girl who cried while eating spicy ramen. Reminded me of you when Naruto snuck wasabi into your food when we were twelve.'

'It has been hailing for thirty minutes straight. Do you remember when we were visiting the land of waves and it rained so hard one night and it got so cold that it started hailing?'

'Congratulate Naruto and Hinata on their marriage, I wish I could be there but I am sure that you will take care of congratulating them for me. You were always better at that than me.'

Sakura smiled at that one before putting it back on the pile and adding the new letter and putting them away. A sorrowful meow cut through her giddy phase and she peered into the kitchen to see her very angry and very fat cat glaring at her.

"Oh Miko I'm sorry. I forgot to ask Mrs. Emiko to come and feed you today." She apologized as she guiltily poured some kitty kibble into the cat's bowl before returning to bed and crawling under the covers.

Miko joined her a few minutes later, happily purring now that he'd been fed, and curled up behind Sakura's knees as she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Sakura woke the next morning feeling better than she had in awhile, she stretched in the morning sunlight which shone on her bed and patted Miko's still sleeping form… and then she realized that she had woken up on her own with no alarm clock.

She jolted upwards and sent the cat flying from the bed and looked over at her alarm clock which read 9:15am.

"Oh crap!" She gasped as she jumped out of bed and hurried into the bathroom to hurry and get ready for work-which she was already an hour late for.

She slid into the hospital twenty minutes later looking disheveled and panicked and hurried upstairs to her office to try and figure out how she was going to fix her day.

"Miss Haruno." An angry voice greeted her as she stepped inside her office. Igurashi-sensei was sitting on her desk with one leg crossed over the other and he did not look happy.

"Igurashi-sensei, good morning." Sakura greeted him, a sheepish apology already forming on her tongue.

"You are over an hour late to work. That is unacceptable, there are patients that you have been tasked with taking care of.

"I agree and I apologize. I got out of work very early this morning and I must have forgotten to set my alarm clock."

"That is no excuse. I expect better of you, if this keeps up i'm going to have to rethink letting you shoulder some of the responsibility of helping to manage this hospital."

Sakura felt something almost audibly snap inside of her as the last year of stress and exhaustion overcame her: "Let me?" She asked quietly, gripping the shoulder strap of her bag.

"Yes. Let you, if you ever hope to be in my position one day you are going to have to learn how to-" Igurashi was cut off by the wall to the left of his head crumbling under Sakura's fist.

"I have been driving myself insane for the last year as you 'let me' shoulder your responsibilities while you wander off to god knows where. I have been the one that the doctors, nurses and other medical staff come to when they have a problem. I spent sixteen hours here yesterday and barely got home by two a.m. Not only that I don't _need_ to be in your position Igurashi-sensei, and do you want to know why?"

"Why is that?" Igurashi-sensei asked, struggling to keep his voice from quavering.

"Because I am a better doctor and medical ninja than you ever will be. Don't forget who spent time in a war zone and who opted to stay in Konoha."

Sakura's smile dropped and she let the full intensity of her glare pierce through the man in front of her, "Now. I'm going to pack up my office. Because I quit. All of the information on hospital business that you have been neglecting is in the nurses station on this floor and if you even think about complaining to the board of directors remember I have an entire hospital of people who respect me to back me up. So, please, get the hell out of my office."

After the older man had scurried from the room Sakura sank down into her chair and put her face into her hands. What had she just done? It wasn't like her to lose her temper, not anymore. She used to be so good at speaking her mind from the get-go but this last year at the hospital had been brutal and she'd bottled too much inside.

Sakura began to pack up her office, putting her things in a large tote bag that she kept in her desk.

When she emerged from the small office that was no longer hers she was greeted with the concerned faces of the staff who she had worked with for the past year.

"Sorry you guys." She grinned sheepishly.

"Sorry? I would have decked him." Kotoko, one of the nurses said.

"Yeah you've been pulling more than your own weight for more than a year and you are never late." Said Nagakure-sensei, one of the older doctors who still worked at the hospital.

"What are you going to do?" one of them asked and Sakura found herself shrugging her shoulders.

"I don't know yet but it won't be here. At least not until Igurashi-sensei gets his head out of his ass." At least that got some laughs.

She said goodbye and excused herself, trying to get out of the hospital as fast as possible but couldn't help but stop and say goodbye to all of her patients before she left.

Once she was on the street, squinting in the early morning sunshine did she finally let a few frustrated tears escape.

* * *

-LittleMoonLover-


	2. What Now?

**Chapter Two**

 _"What now?"_

"I can't believe you quit your job like that." Naruto exclaimed that night, gasping around his laughter as Sakura finished the story of how she'd quit her job.

Sakura had run into Hinata at the supermarket that afternoon and the ever observant Hyuuga had quickly noticed something was wrong. An invitation to dinner came soon after.

"Oh shut up." Sakura said, pouting over her glass of beer.

"That's right, Sakura had a hard day." Hinata scolded her husband as she set down a plate of fried shrimp.

Naruto smiled up his wife despite her admonishment and Sakura could see Hinata's hand fall to rest at the nape of his hair as the pair shared an intimate, affectionate, look.

Sakura averted her gaze, the familiar feeling of envy filling her gut. She ate the rest of her meal in a detached silence, answering the couple's question absentmindedly as she mulled over the events of the day.

Later, she sat on the small stoop of the apartment that Hinata and Naruto shared, nursing another beer and staring up at the inky black sky. Had she not quit her job she would probably still have been at work.

"There you are." Hinata's soft voice said from behind her as the dark haired woman joined her on the stoop.

"Here I am." Sakura agreed and offered her the cup of beer in her hand.

Hinata took a dainty sip before passing it back to Sakura, "Sakura, you know you can speak with me about anything. I can tell that something else is bothering you other than leaving your job."

"You notice too much-it must be your eyes."

"It must be." Hinata agreed and continued to look at Sakura expectantly.

Sakura sighed "I don't know it's a mixture of so many things. I loved working in an established hospital-but I also miss being out in the field as a medical ninja-no I _crave_ it. It's been so long since i've been on a mission that I feel like all of the things that Lady Tsunade taught me are going to waste at the hospital."

"And what about Uchiha-san?" Hinata asked, and Sakura was as always surprised that the other woman no longer beat around the bush about things like she used to.

"That has been on ice for who knows how long. I've been trying to be patient-but in the end I'm not confident about it anymore." Sakura was surprised to hear herself say the words. She'd always tried to be the most confident person that she could be. When had she stopped doing that?

"Are you still getting letters from him?"

Sakura nodded, remembering the letter from the night before. "But it's never much other than the last sentence or two, barely even worth mentioning."

"I don't know about that. The Uchiha-san that I remember was never one to be frivolous with words." Hinata replied.

Sakura mulled over that in silence until she felt Hinata's hands slide into hers and turned Sakura until she was forced to make eye contact with the other woman.

"Do you remember telling me to just go after Naruto and tell him how I feel? To feel confident enough in my feelings for him that anything else shouldn't matter? I'd like to give you the same advice. You are no longer attached to a job, it's time to stop waiting and have a hand in your own destiny."

"What are you saying?" Sakura asked.

"I think a visit to the Village Hidden by Rain is in order."

* * *

 _The Next Morning..._

"Can you repeat that?" Kakashi Hatake sat in the large chair that was a constant fixture in the Hokage's office. He was wearing normal fatigues instead of his Hokage's robes, probably for some exercised or another.

Sakura sighed and repeated herself: "I said, I'd like to become an active medical ninja again and I'd like to be stationed at the Konoha embassy in Amegakure."

She had gotten up early went to the Hokage's office, asking for an impromptu meeting and, thankfully, being the former student of the current Hokage had it's benefits.

"You want to become an active ninja again? I thought you were happy at the hospital?"

"I was, but I realized yesterday that I was missing something important… so it was mutually decided that I would leave the position to pursue different things." Sakura felt her cheeks turn red as she said this.

"Really?" Kakashi asked, "Because from what Naruto told me you got into an argument with your boss and quit in a blaze of glory."

"Naruto needs to learn how to mind his own business." Sakura made a mental note to destroy her fellow team member later. "Look can I get the station or not?"

"If I told you no would you go anyways?"

"Probably."

The older man heaved a great sigh, "I thought so. Fine you are reinstated as a medical ninja and I'll send the paperwork ahead of you."

Sakura grinned, pleased at getting her way. "Great! I'll leave tomorrow afternoon."

"One more thing." Kakashi said as she got up to leave.

* * *

The next day Sakura stood at the gates of Konoha surrounded by her friends.

"I can't believe you quit your job and are leaving us for who knows how long." Ino complained squeezing her tightly.

No one knew what was in Amegakure-other than Kakashi and Naruto (and by extension Hinata). Just that Sakura had suddenly gotten an itch to get back into the action.

"It'll only be for a year a most, besides Amegakure needs all of the competent medical help that they can get."

"It's still pretty messy over there huh?" Shikamaru asked, scratching the back of his head "What a pain."

Sakura laughed as they all argued back and forth, she'd miss this but she had a feeling that she wouldn't regret going back to her roots as a medical ninja.

She didn't quite know if she would regret going to the same place that Sasuke was, but she'd lain awake thinking about it the night before and she'd come to a conclusion. She was going to go to Amegakure for her, she wouldn't go out of her way to find Sasuke-she was sure he would eventually figure out that she was there (knowing Naruto's inability to keep anything to himself).

She could be patient, if he wanted to see her then he would just have to come and find her.

* * *

 _Amegakure, Three Weeks Later._

Sasuke Uchiha unlocked the door to his tiny apartment and stepped inside, dripping from head to toe because of the rain that almost continuously poured outside. When they called Amegakure the village hidden by rain they weren't kidding.

It was the first time that he had returned to the apartment in almost two weeks since he'd been on a reconnaissance mission. He had been trying to weed out yet another group of rebels who didn't want Amegakure joining the Shinobi union-which he'd been doing for the past year. Sometimes it felt like more people didn't want stability in Amegakure than those who actually did.

He'd finally managed to gather some intel on the latest group and passed it off to the group of Konoha ninjas who were handling it. That ended his involvement, now all he had to do was wait for another assignment to pop up from Kakashi.

Until that happened he was finally back in his apartment and all he wanted to do was drop into bed and sleep for a week straight.

But as he headed further into the apartment a square white envelope sitting on the tiny kitchen counter caught his eye. Sasuke picked it up idly wondering which of the three people (Naruto, Kakashi or Sakura), who knew the apartment's address, that it was from.

One look at the messily written address line told him that it was Naruto, he broke open the seal and began to read the letter:

"Yo Sasuke! How's it going in soggy land?

Kakashi just wanted me to let you know that there will be some more recon ops waiting for you at the Konoha Embassy whenever you get back from whatever one you are currently on.

Hinata and I are doing fine-though I may or may not have gotten yelled at last week for not doing my share of the chores (who knew Hinata could be so scary). I'm sure you are doing fine not that you would tell me even if I asked.

How is Sakura doing? Did she make it to Amegakure ok? Everyone thought she had gone crazy when she quit her job and decided to become an active medical ninja again but I say that she's been too boring in the last year and it was time to spice things up.

Anyways. Let me know you got this letter so I can let Kakashi know and so on and so forth.

Take care of Sakura!

Naruto"

By the time his brain registered the last words of the letter Sasuke was already throwing it back onto the counter, grabbing his keys and leaving the apartment-all thoughts of sleep gone from his mind.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Here is chapter two! These are the only two chapters I have fully written (and read through for basic errors, though I'm sure there are still some mistakes). Chapter Three should be up in the next week or so and then I hope to get on a weekly or bi-weekly upload schedule until mid-August (though I am trying to finish this fic before I start my new semester at Uni in August). We shall see lovelies, this story should between 12 and 20 chapters like most of my stories!**

 **As always thank you for reading and I hope you can leave a review for me! See you in the next chapter!**

 **-LittleMoonLover-**


	3. Meeting Again

**Chapter 3**

 _"Meeting Again"_

The Konoha Embassy was a ramshackle building situated on the outskirts of Amegakure. The grey rain-soaked concrete and dim windows didn't make for a very inviting place, but the ninjas and other officials from Konoha made due. Someone had even put a welcome sign on the door.

The Konoha Embassy was also one of the biggest out of the villages providing aid to Amegakure. It featured a section for housing refugees, along with fully outfitted medical facilities so that they could best serve those who needed it. It didn't make up for the years of war that tore this stretch of land a part.

Sasuke stood in front of the building before pulling open the doors and wincing at the overly cheerful bell that brought the attention of the lobby attendant down on him.

"Hello!" Arima, the usual attendant greeted him cheerfully. "Are you here for your latest assignments? I can let Nishigaki-sensei know-"

"Later." Sasuke said, cutting her off. "I need to know, is there a medical ninja named Haruno Sakura currently stationed here at the embassy?"

Arima blinked once and then again, surprised. She had never heard the man speak more than a few words and he rarely ever asked her any questions.

"Haruno-san? Does she have pink hair? If so yes! She came in the latest batch of medical ninjas from Konoha almost a month ago."

"Where can I find her?"

The attendant moved over to the computer, a great white box sitting on the desk in front of her. "It looks like she signed in this morning… she should be in the main medical hall today. We have a new influx of refugees that need to be checked and put into the system."

Sasuke was gone before she could finish, heading down the hall and taking a sharp left turn. The main medical hall was an old ballroom that had been retrofitted to serve as a hospital. The patients in there were usually the walking wounded and sick-the more critical cases were kept upstairs and had round-the-clock care.

The main medical hall was lined with wrought metal beds and there were people filling almost all of them. Nurses and other medical personnel trailed from bed to bed checking on everyone and making sure that they were comfortable.

He didn't come to it very often, there was no point since he didn't know the first thing about medical ninjutsu and besides… sick people made him feel uncomfortable. The sound of coughing and quiet conversation could be heard throughout the room and he had to keep himself from immediately leaving the way that he came.

But he pushed himself further into the room, his eyes scanning the various medical staff-looking for Sakura.

Luckily she stuck out like a sore thumb, her pink hair making her easy to spot. She was standing in the corner of the room next to one of the beds, her sleeves were rolled up to her elbows and her hair was tied back as she examined her patient.

Knowing better than to interrupt her Sasuke leaned against the wall and waited. It didn't take her long to say goodbye and turn to face the rest of the hall and it took even less time for her eyes to find him.

Sasuke watched her register his presence with shock and he lifted his hand in a little wave.

Sakura made her way over to him, waving off people stopping to ask her questions.

"Hello Sasuke." She said with a sheepish smile as she finally came to stand in front of him. "I see Naruto blabbed."

"He did." He agreed.

"So…" Sakura drew out the word, as if trying to figure out what to say next, "Want to get some ramen?"

He nodded and they left the main hall, ignoring the curious looks of all of the medical staff.

As they passed Arima, Sakura signed out with a smile "I'll be back in about an hour. Tell Abe-san that I'll be back to check her vitals and that she needs to eat something because her blood sugar was too low last time I checked it an hour ago and oh! Tell the nurses not to let Endo-san get out of bed, he needs to be resting his back…"

As Sakura rattled off instructions to the attendant who was hurrying to scribble them down, Sasuke was surprised that she remembered any of those things. She seemed so… adult. In a way that made him feel vaguely odd. The last time he'd seen her for any stretch of time was when he left Konoha three years ago.

When he'd returned to aid Konoha when the moon nearly collided with them she'd been away on the mission itself and he'd thought it best just to disappear-not wanting to get her hopes up since he wasn't ready to return to Konoha yet.

As they walked in the rain, in relative silence Sasuke tried to connect the image of the seventeen year old Sakura that he'd left over three years ago in Konoha with the woman walking next to him. She stood just above his shoulder and she'd let her hair grow past her shoulders again and kept it tied neatly back in a pony-tail. The presence of cosmetics was new too, done with a careful light hand she had some kind of gloss on her lips and something shiny on her eyelids.

They came upon the ramen shop that Sasuke usually favored and entered, leaving their umbrellas next to the door as the shop owner greeted them and showed them to a small table by the window. A heater was situated above them that quickly chased away the chill from the rain.

"This shop is so different from the one back in Konoha, I guess I'm so used to just ducking inside somewhere and taking a seat." Sakura joked as they ordered their ramen.

"It's always raining. It would be bad idea to have people eating outside." Sasuke replied, speaking for the first time since he'd seen her from across the room back at the embassy.

"I guess thats true…" Sakura trailed off and they looked at each other awkwardly. Sakura toyed with her chopsticks, as Sasuke watched her mind crank to find something to say before deciding to be straightforward with him.

"Are you upset that I'm here?" She asked, lifting her eyes to meet his.

Sasuke thought about it for a moment before speaking,"If I said yes would you leave?"

He watched her visibly wince but she collected herself quickly, "No I wouldn't."

"Is that why you didn't write and tell me you were coming?" He wanted to add that he would have come to meet her once she made it to Amegakure but chose to keep it to himself.

"I figured Naruto would say something and if you wanted to see me then you would. You aren't usually one to go out of your way to do something that you didn't want to do."

Sasuke shifted uncomfortably because she'd hit the nail on the head. Luckily their food came and he didn't have to say anything else for a few moment.

"So you quit your job?" He asked, trying to lighten up the conversation.

"You could say that." She replied, her cheeks reddening as she launched into the story. Telling him about her boss and how she was going nuts. When she got to the part about punching the wall next to her boss's head Sasuke couldn't help but smirk. It was so Sakura to bottle everything up like that until it burst out of her-at least it was the Sakura that he remembered.

Sasuke was struck yet again by how adult-like she had become. She spoke with such energy and her hands never stopped moving as she told him some of the funnier stories of her time at the hospital.

"Will you just be working at the embassy?" Sasuke asked, pushing away his empty bowl.

"I thought I would be but it turns out that there is a team that needs a medical ninja. Kakashi asked me to work with them until they can find someone more permanent. They are taking care of groups that are against Amegakure joining the union and might become violent."

"Actually, Kakashi asked me to work with a team that is need of a medical ninja. They are one of the teams that investigate the groups who have spoken out again Amegakure joining the Shinobi union-to make sure that they don't become violent.

Sasuke sat back with surprise, what was Kakashi up to? "Have you met them yet?"

"No I'm supposed to meet them in the coming week since they are out on a mission at the moment."

"I see." Sasuke said "I'm surprised that you want to go on missions. I'd heard that you prefer working in a hospital setting."

"I like them both if I'm being honest-as long as everyone is pulling their own fair share." Sakura was trying to figure out how to explain the restlessness that she'd felt over the past six months. "But I don't know… I just felt like something was missing."

They paid their bill and left the ramen shop and surprisingly there was a rare lull in the rain so they didn't need to open their umbrellas.

Once they made it back to the embassy Sakura turned to Sasuke, biting her lower lip as if deciding whether or not to say something.

"I'm not going to wait anymore." She quietly said, looking up at him with a wide smile. "I couldn't wait patiently in Konoha, I'm sorry, I've never been the most patient person."

She then turned and hurried inside as the rain started again, waving over her shoulder as she pushed the doors open and disappeared from view. Leaving Sasuke standing by himself in the rain.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Good afternoon (for me) lovelies! Here is chapter three of _The Lost Year_. I hope you enjoyed it and are looking forward to the next chapter! Special thanks for the four reviewers so far: _Meganmegoo, Luin-Fanel, MystikalFaery & Sharingan Blossoms_! Thank you for the motivation to get off my butt and edit this chapter! The chapters are taking a little longer to put out than I'd like because I am really trying to go through and edit my work after I finish the chapter. Chapter four is nearly complete but it does need editing so it should come out in the next couple of days. I look forward to seeing you all then! **

**Thank you for reading and reviewing!**

 **-LittleMoonLover-**


	4. Waiting

**Chapter 4**

 _Waiting_

Sasuke made it back to his apartment, drenched head to toe by the rain since he'd neglected to open his umbrella as the drizzle returned.

' _I'm not going to wait anymore.'_ Sakura's words drifted through his mind as he kicked off his shoes and tossed them next to the door. What did she mean by it? That she was giving up on him? He didn't want that, at least he didn't think he did.

Sasuke changed into a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt and turned on the heat to chase away the chill that had begun to set into his bones.

Sakura was always confident in the way that she felt and Sasuke wondered idly how she did it. He'd never had any sort of stability, living his life on rocky ground ever since his family had been massacred. But he'd had constants in his life and most of those had to do with Team 7. Kakashi was his teacher, Naruto his friend and Sakura? He still couldn't figure out what would make her want to stick around for him and wait. But she was done waiting-wasn't she?

'I'm sorry, I've never been the most patient person.' Sasuke laid on the uncomfortable couch that had come in the already-furnished apartment and ran a hand through his damp hair. He couldn't fault her for her lack of patience, three years was a long time. They'd passed by in almost a blink of an eye for him, he'd travelled by himself for the first two trying to find some kind of peace with himself.

But once Kakashi had sent word that he'd needed Sasuke's help in Amegakure he couldn't really say no.

But was it really time to return to Konoha? There were so many things that he was afraid of: The Uchiha name still held a stigma-he had tried to destroy the village after all. He thought, making a mental list in his head. Except he had also helped to save Konoha from Kaguya. He also didn't know what he would do upon returning-they wouldn't trust him with any run-of-the-mill missions and he'd burned a lot of bridges with those he'd grown up with.

All of these thoughts were like touching a hot stove and he drew away from them-dozing on the couch until the sound of the pounding rain lulled him to sleep.

* * *

"Haruno-san, it's time for your lunch break!" one of the nurses called from a crossed the room and Sakura looked up from her patient with gratitude.

"Thank you for reminding me." She said as she pulled off her smock and let her hair down from it's ponytail, shaking it out.

"No problem, besides your Uchiha-san is waiting for you over by the door." The older woman waggled her eyebrows at Sakura couldn't help but laugh.

Over the past week Sasuke had shown up everyday during her lunch hour and it was sending the nurses and other doctors crazy. Had Sakura not known Sasuke very well she might have read more into it-but now she knew better. Any affections that Sasuke might have would have to be explicitly expressed by him in order for her to believe it.

When she had told him that she was done waiting a week ago, she thought that that was it. Either he would say yes or no and that would be that… except he did neither of those things. He just showed up the next day at her lunch and they went to lunch.

They didn't talk about her declaration and Sakura was half-glad that that was the case-feeling a little embarrassed.

Regardless she liked to spend her lunch hour with him anyways. She did most of the talking and he chimed in here and there with a question or a comment. It was… nice. She talked about the antics of their friends over the past three years and told him about Hinata and Naruto's marriage and things like that and he listened intently.

"Whats for lunch today?" She asked, joining him by the wall with a bright smile.

Sasuke shrugged "Whatever you feel like."

Sakura tapped her chin in thought, "Miso soup with tofu and tempura!"

"Sounds good." He agreed.

The rain was relentless that day, pouring heavily and despite their best efforts they were more than a little damp by the time that they made it to the restaurant. They sat down inside, next to one of the heaters so that they could dry off as they ate.

"How was your day?" Sakura began, flipping through the laminated menu even though she knew what she was going to order already.

"The usual, research, training and writing reports." Sasuke replied, his eyes on his own menu.

"Sounds better than my day." She said after they'd ordered their food.

Sasuke looked up at her, his one black eye trained on her face "Did you lose another patient today?"

Sakura nodded "This morning. She was so sick that by the time she made it to us there was nothing we could do but make her comfortable."

"I'm sorry." Sasuke said and his words hung in the air between them. Luckily their food came to lighten the mood.

"So," Sakura began as she tucked into her food loving the warmth that spread through her body as she ate "I am going to meet my team today after lunch."

"Who are you teamed up with?"

"They're two ninjas from Konoha-Kamikura Kyo and Akiyama Hibiki. Do you know them?" Sakura asked.

Sasuke shook his head, he didn't know either of those ninjas. He wished that he had paid more attention in the past but none of them had ever caught his interest since he mostly kept to himself.

Half an hour later they headed back to the embassy "I'd like to meet them with you." Sasuke asked, looking sideways at Sakura to try and gauge her reaction.

"You don't need to do that…" Sakura began "No offense Sasuke but you can be pretty intimidating those those who don't know you."

"Do I intimidate you?"

"Well… no. Not in that way." Sakura didn't want to explain how he intimidated her exactly so she gave in: "Okay you can come with me but promise me that you will be on your best behaviour."

Sasuke smirked "We'll see."

* * *

Kamikura Kyo and Akiyama Hibiki made an interesting pair, standing close together with their heads bent as they talked quietly to one another as Sakura and Sasuke arrive. They had agreed to meet in a conference room in the embassy to start getting to know one another before training together for the first time later that afternoon.

Sakura's eyes took in her two teammates, examining them quickly. Kamikura was a tall broad-shouldered man with tan arms covered in little scars. He had hair that was so blond that it was almost white and it was tied back into a short ponytail.

Adversely Akiyama was a tiny woman who stood almost a head shorter than Sakura. She had long brown hair that was tied back in twin-tail braids and wore almost all dark green. Her forehead protector with the symbol of Konoha seemed almost too big for her head.

They both turned to her, their faces making opposite expressions: Kamikura's guarded and Akiyama's friendly.

"Hello." Sakura greeted them, stepping in front of Sasuke and introducing herself "I'm Sakura Haruno and I will be your medic starting today."

She held out her hand to them and Akiyama was the first to step forward and shake her hand.

Kamikura, on the other hand stayed where he was, his eyes travelling to look at Sasuke who still stood silently behind Sakura, "Who's this?" He asked nodding his head in Sasuke's direction.

"Ah…" Sakura began "This is Sasuke. He's a childhood friend of mine who is stationed here as well." She knew better than to give Sasuke's last name without his permission-the Uchiha name was still notorious to most Konoha ninjas and they either appreciated Sasuke's help or shunned it.

Sasuke stepped forwards and held out a hand "Nice to meet you." He said gruffly, surprising the hell out of Sakura. Kamikura grasped Sasuke's and they shook and Sakura tried to keep herself from rolling her eyes when she noticed the whitening of their knuckles.

"So what do you do here?" Kamikura asked.

"Recon mostly."

"So you're a sneak. Can't say thats the most trustworthy position at the embassy."

"Anyways," Sakura said stepping between them in hopes of ending the battle of testosterone that was currently taking place. "We had better get started, I'm excited to get to know you both better." She said nudging Sasuke in the ribs, but he didn't seem to be getting the hint.

"Uh. Sasuke?" He blinked and looked down at her, "I'll see you later?"

Sasuke, looked down at her and nodded but she could sense his irritation at being sent away. "I'll see you tonight." He said before turning and leaving the room.

"He's a cold guy isn't he?" Kamikura remarked as they all sat down and was instantly shushed by Akiyama.

"It just takes him a while to get used to new people and warm up." Sakura defended, trying to hide her irritation over the fact that the two had nearly gotten into a match of wills so quickly. But she needed to try and get along with her team, "So tell me about yourselves!"

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **... So ... Can I get a high five? I actually edited two chapters in one day. Motivation nation over here! Here is Chapter 4 of the Lost Year and the last one for the day (since I used up all of my free time editing).**

 **What do you guys think, will this be a slow burn fic or not?**

 **As always thank you for reading and don't forget to leave a review!**

 **-LittleMoonLover-**


	5. Huh?

**Chapter 5**

 _"Huh?"_

"I'll see you tomorrow afternoon for the briefing." Sakura called as she waved to her teammates, they had just finished their first day of training. They'd quickly found a stride together in their training as a team. The dynamics were very different from what she was used to-Kamikura took charge quickly and Akiyama followed his orders to a T.

Back in her Team 7 days both Naruto and Sasuke were constantly butting heads and trying to be in charge and that usually hindered them getting anything done. But it was lively and always exciting.

Sakura had to bite her lip a couple of times when they were going through maneuvers that weren't done quite the way she would have done them. But she didn't want to step on any toes-at least not on the first day.

Akiyama waved goodbye to her before turning and hurrying to catch up with Kamikura who was already several feet ahead and hadn't bothered to reply.

Turning to head back inside Sakura realized that it wasn't raining yet again and it brought her mood up almost instantly.

Grabbing all of her things from inside she signed out and waved goodbye to the attendant who looked chipper as usual before headed outside. Once she made it she stood at the entrance for a moment trying to decide what she wanted to eat for dinner before she headed home to the Konoha housing complex that sat directly across the street from the embassy.

The rain still hadn't returned and she tilted her chin up to the sky as if she could feel the sun through the still thick cloud layer.

"Dinner?" A voice said from behind her and she didn't even have to turn around to see who it was because she already knew.

Sasuke was leaning against the wall next to the embassy door. He wasn't wearing his cloak anymore and instead just wore a long sleeved grey shirt. One sleeve dangled at his side and Sakura jumped with surprise. She'd almost forgotten that he only had one arm. The cloak usually hid that fact.

"Sure." Sakura said and Sasuke pushed off of the wall to join her.

They began walking with no particular restaurant in mind and Sakura filled the silence by telling Sasuke about her day training with her new teammates.

"That Kamikura is hard to work with then I take it?" Sasuke asked, looking sideways at her.

There was that competitiveness again. Sakura had almost forgotten about it, it had been something that had dominated their genin days.

"He's not the easiest person to work with, but luckily I have a lot of experience working with people with huge egos." There was an impish note to her voice as she stepped forwards and turned to look at him head on, walking backwards as she talked.

"You mean Naruto right?" Sasuke asked, oblivious to her teasing.

Sakura snorted "In part yes. But you had a lot to do with some of Team 7's most ridiculous messes."

"I did not." Sasuke scoffed as if she had just said the most ridiculous thing he'd ever heard.

"Okay what about the bell test?" She asked quirking an eyebrow at Sasuke.

"Naruto's fault." The Uchiha said stubbornly.

"And the time we tried to see underneath Kakashi's mask?"

"Naruto."

"Okay. Keep telling yourself that." She could barely suppress her laughter, as she hurried further down the street she caught sight of the ramen shop they'd gone to a week before: "Ramen?"

"Sure." Sasuke agreed, looking a little more ruffled than he had when they'd left the embassy.

As they headed inside and sat down Sakura continued to remind Sasuke of all of the shenanigans that he'd been involved in as a child.

"What about the time that we all wanted to go exploring in the land of the waves but we had to sneak past Kakashi and you came up with the plan to hide his dirty books so he would be too preoccupied with looking for them to worry about where we were?" Sakura asked as a steaming bowl of ramen was set in front of her.

"That…" Sasuke trailed off, she had him there. "Was a great plan." He finally gave in the corners of his mouth turning upwards slightly.

"Oh my goodness." Sakura gasped "Was that a smile I see? Is the ever sober Sasuke Uchiha smiling?"

Sasuke didn't humor her with another smile as he ate his ramen.

Sakura couldn't help laugh but began to eat her own food as well. "I'm going to be going on a mission next week. My first mission with the new team!"

"Already? That was fast."

"Well they haven't been able to go on many missions because they didn't have a medical ninja-so they are itching to get back out there. It should be a relatively short mission, only a couple of days."

"Hn." Sasuke replied looking a little forlorn, Sakura almost wanted to ask if he'd miss her but that sort of thing was never easy to ask.

Soon enough they were back on the street, darkness had fallen while they were inside but the rain still had yet to return- so the street was lined with merrily lit lamps. Lots of people milled around chatting cheerfully with one another as they enjoyed the dry night.

"It's amazing how the city comes alive for a night without rain." Sakura looked around at all of the stores that had set up stalls outside of their shops to try and convince the passers bys to buy their wares.

"It doesn't happen very often." Sasuke agreed, clearly uncomfortable with the throng of people.

When they made it back to the Konoha housing complex Sakura turned to say goodbye but something in Sasuke's expression made her hesitate "What's wrong?"

"Last week when you said you wouldn't wait anymore what did you mean?"

Sakura was taken aback, she'd figured that he hadn't thought much about it since he hadn't brought it up to her the day after she'd said it.

"Well, for starters…" She began "When I was in Konoha I was restless-more so than I've ever been.. I felt like I was up in the air for everything while all of my friends were moving on and starting their adult lives with so much certainty. So I quit my job and suddenly there was really nothing else holding me back from coming out here and asking once and for all if my future is here and I couldn't do all of that if I was still waiting for you to come back to Konoha."

"You believe your future is here in Amegakure?" Sasuke asked with confusion.

Sakura chuckled, "You know for someone so smart you sure are dense. My future is standing right in front of me. At least I hope it is."

Sakura sighed when she noticed the frown on Sasuke's face "Hey, don't overthink it. You've known that my feelings haven't gone away, despite your best efforts."

"But why?" Sasuke asked and Sakura blinked, how could she put that sort of thing into words? It wasn't an easy thing to really say in a way that wouldn't sound weird.

So she reached out and poked his forehead, "Because stupid, we're connected." The motion brought forth the memory of his departure three years ago when he'd done the same for her.

"Whether or not it's romantic we are connected. You and me, you and Naruto or you and anyone else in Konoha-you have connections Sasuke. They aren't a bridge you can burn and they still exist even if you haven't forgiven yourself for the things you've done yet."

"But I do know that you have always been the person that I couldn't quite reach. I thought waiting around would bring you to me-if only I had just a little more patience. But I want to go on dates with you and be the one you want to be with. I want to feel what I felt as a child as an adult." Sakura blushed a bright cherry red and tried to look a little less pathetic than she felt.

Sasuke didn't say anything and Sakura wilted on the inside, she withdrew her hand from his forehead and let it dangle by her side. "Sorry that was a lot to take in, I'm going to head inside now."

"Hold on." Sasuke reached out for her hand and Sakura turned to face him, "I thought we were already going on dates?" He asked.

Sakura blinked once at him as she tried to process his words. " _Huh?"_

* * *

Sakura lay in bed later that night still trying to understand the events of that day.

' _I thought we were already going on dates?'_ Sasuke had asked and Sakura had nearly dropped to the ground. What did he mean? Did he really consider what they were doing as 'dates'?

Sakura squirmed in bed, kicking her legs in frustration and gripping her pillow to her chest. She'd excused herself after that, drifting inside absentmindedly as she tried to process his words.

"Sasuke you dummy." She muttered to herself "How am I supposed to know that those were dates if you don't say it explicitly… if I had known I would have at least done my hair." She said a little vainly as she continued to pout.

Eventually she drifted off into a fitful sleep that was interrupted much too soon by her alarm clock blaring in her ear the next morning.

Getting up she groggily turned on the electric kettle that sat on her bedside table, wishing yet again that the kitchen that everyone in the building shared wasn't all the way downstairs and probably full of people starting their own days. Instant coffee would have to do for now but she would pour herself a better cup once she got to work.

Sipping on the bitter brew she flipped through her mail (which she'd neglected to do the night before), picking out letters from her friends and ads with coupons that she could use later on.

The first letter on top was from Hinata and she tore it open. Unfolding the letter, which was written on purple tinted paper, Sakura could smell the scent of lavender which followed the Hyuuga around wherever she went and was instantly a little homesick.

 _Sakura,_

 _How are things over there? Is it raining (of course it is but it's polite to ask)? Things here are going along as usual. Naruto has been out on a mission for the past week or so, so I've just been by myself at home. Luckily I've been able to get a lot done without, er, distractions._

 _Ino told me to tell you that she would be sending you a package, so if you already haven't gotten it then it should be along shortly._

 _I guess all there is left to ask is the most important thing, have you met with Uchiha-san? Naruto told me that he'd told Sasuke via his own letter-which he got a sound scolding for-but that doesn't mean Uchiha-san came to find you. I wish that you'd just go find him yourself but I understand your reasoning._

 _Anyways, enclosed are some leaves from the trees in Konoha. I figured that you would miss the green summer. I hope to receive a letter soon!_

 _Uzumaki Hinata_

Sakura chuckled and upturned the letter, letting the bright green leaves slip from it's depths. They fell onto her desk, standing out against the brown wood. She wanted to open the rest of the letters but one glance at the clock told her that she needed to get dressed quickly or else she would be late for work.

Ten minutes later she was sliding out of her door with a granola bar in hand and her bag slung over her shoulder. She only had to work a half-shift at the embassy's medical hall and the afternoon would be spent training with her new team members.

Thoughts of the day before were temporarily chased from her mind as she hurried across the street to begin her day.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **So I really wanted to do a slower-burn Sasusaku fanfic (Because I do agree that this is a ship of slow burning). But in order for me to write the plot in a way for it to move onwards I felt that this was the best place to take it. But of course there are some guaranteed confusions on the way to frustrate our young pairing! I have not started on Chapter 6 but I plan to after posting this chapter. Expect it to be up in the next couple of days (Probably by Sunday Night/Monday Morning). Like I said in my first chapter I am trying to finish this fic by the end of the month while I still have free time before the semester starts! If I can't do that then I will move to a weekly posting schedule in order to finish it up!**

 **Anyways, thanks for reading and sticking with me this far! Special shoutout to reviewers:** _Leife, Luin-Fanel, Apple, Aqua 86 & Meganmegoo_ **! Thanks for reviewing!**

 **-LittleMoonLover-**


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